


please don't wake up (sweet lie)

by kagurasbuns (orphan_account)



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! GX
Genre: Angst, Crystal Protector is Johan's ancestor, Fluff, M/M, Pining, Prince Juudai is named Jougo
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-05
Updated: 2019-03-05
Packaged: 2019-11-12 04:50:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,318
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18004121
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/kagurasbuns
Summary: Even the sweetest dream has an end.Alternatively: Yubel, Mamoru, Jougo, and the lengths each one would go through to keep their dream a reality.





	please don't wake up (sweet lie)

**Author's Note:**

> Borrows plot elements from Ephemeral Happiness (although I've made some changes here which you'll see), another fic written by itsashowtime. Please check him out!

 

“What’s your dream?”

 

The human Yubel had looked down at the small prince, who was only a few days away from his sixth birthday. Wide-eyed and delicately walking on fine marble tiles barefooted, Jougo was the sweet image of childlike innocence and blissful ignorance.

 

“Hey, I’m talking to you, Yubel,” Jougo had chided them, tugging on their sleeve.

 

Yubel chuckled. “I’m sorry, your majesty. You’re asking for my dream?”

 

A smile had replaced the frown on little Jougo’s face. “Yeah!”

 

“Well, what’s yours?”

 

Jougo grinned widely, as brightly as the sun. “My dream is to always be with you, forever and ever!”

 

A sweet emotion crawled into Yubel’s chest. “What a coincidence, it’s the same as mine.”

 

The small prince giggled and hugged Yubel’s leg. Yubel swore they could nearly burst from so much love bubbling inside their chest.

* * *

 

 

The years passed and although Jougo had now grown to be fifteen years old, he still acted as if he was half his age.

 

Spending most of his time playing under the sun and roaming the castle’s outskirts, it was honestly difficult for Yubel to picture the kingdom being run by such a carefree prince someday.

 

When the King asked his son what kinds of dreams he had for the kingdom, Jougo couldn’t think of anything to answer.

 

“You can’t just think about your own dream,” his father scolded him. “Someday, the dreams of others will be in your hands, too, and they will count on you to make them a reality.”

 

The King’s words, however, went into one of Jougo’s ears and exited through the other.

 

“Don’t worry,” Yubel told Jougo the next day. “You’ve already made my dream come true.”

 

“I’m not worried,” Jougo grinned, and disappeared into the fields once more.

* * *

But dreams had an end to them, too.

 

One day, Yubel woke up and saw Jougo with a new friend. A blonde, masked boy in white and gold armor.

 

Yubel would see Jougo and the masked boy in the fields - the same one where Yubel and Jougo played around when the latter was younger. This time, Jougo preferred to play hide and seek within the castle grounds. After learning about the masked boy, Yubel could see why. Jougo was hiding away in the fields with his new friend.

 

Yubel watched the two meet up day after day, and every single time, they’d watch their friendship develop. The way their hands would naturally find one another, the smiles they’d give each other - these little things, for some reason, irked Yubel deeply. They hated that masked boy’s smile the most. How dare he smile at the prince so _casually_ \- he didn’t even know that Jougo was the Crowned Prince!

 

Yubel never said a word about it, because as long as Jougo was happy, that was all that mattered, right? Jougo and Yubel were still friends, after all. Nothing would change that. It just meant Jougo had another friend besides Yubel.

 

If only it was that simple.

 

“I want to introduce you to him someday,” Jougo had told them one evening after dinner.

 

Yubel flinched.

 

“I don’t know if that’s possible,” Yubel said with a nervous chuckle.

 

Jougo blinked. “Why not?”

 

“There might not be enough time. Besides, the King doesn’t want you making friends with just anyone, yes? They might have ill intentions… worse, they could be a spy—”

 

“Mamoru’s not like that!” Jougo pouted. “He… he wouldn’t do that to me.”

 

“How would you know? That freak won’t even show his face.”

 

As soon as Yubel’s words left their mouth, they immediately regretted rebutting the prince. An awful silence fell between the two.

 

“How do you know what he looks like?” Jougo asked tenatively. His question was loaded with a heavy gaze. Yubel could not answer him.

 

“Have you been watching me? Him? _Us_?”

 

Yubel could not stand hearing that word being used that way for some reason.

 

“Yes,” Yubel answered.  

 

“Why?”

  
“Because my dream is to always be with you, Jougo.”

 

Yubel wished Jougo was just like before - an untarnished memory, a sweet child full of innocence - because they knew that that Jougo would respond with equal enthusiasm and affection. Instead, Jougo could only look at Yubel, confused - not like when he couldn’t understand a math problem, but confused that Yubel had done such a thing. As if he couldn’t understand that Yubel had done such a thing out of concern - out of love.

 

“I’m going to sleep, Yubel.” Jougo had stood up, still looking troubled. “I’m pretty tired. Mamoru and I did a lot of things today.”

 

“Wait…!”

 

Jougo had closed the door before Yubel could figure out what they wanted to say.

 

Yubel lay awake that night, hoping that somewhere in the deep recesses of Jougo’s sleep, they would appear in the prince’s dreams.

* * *

Jougo and Mamoru continued to meet up. Each time they met, the prince would show that masked boy something that Jougo had already done with Yubel. They made flower crowns, went stargazing, talked about petty and serious things  - all sorts of things that only Yubel knew. That only Yubel _should_ know.

 

“I want to be with you forever and ever, Mamoru,” Jougo had told that boy one day, as the sun was melting beautifully behind them. Jougo glowed under the sunlight.

 

The boy - _Mamoru_ , such an annoying name - had smiled timidly at Jougo and held his hands, possibly without the realization that what was in his possession was more precious than his own life.

 

He was Jougo’s new dream.

 

Yubel’s tears blurred the one thing they could not stand to see - their own dream being taken away by someone so undeserving.

* * *

_For our dream,_ Yubel told themselves as they were taken away and bound to a table.

 

Each scalpel dug into their skin, each drop of blood spilled - these would just be small prices to keep their dream a reality.

 

* * *

Yubel’s awakening was greeted by a painfully familiar voice and a pair of arms being wrapped around their newly transformed body.

 

A sharp cry of pain came out instead of a relieved sigh when Jougo hugged them, scaring the prince away.

 

“I’m sorry!” Jougo fussed, unable to do anything but stare at Yubel, confused yet again on what they could do to help. “Did I hurt you?”

 

“No,” Yubel was able to say. They wanted to say more, like, _your presence is comforting enough_ , but found that forming so many syllables was quite a difficulty.

 

“You should rest, Yubel. I’ll take you home.”

 

“No, I’ll be fine…”

 

“Please?”

 

Jougo had looked at them earnestly and Yubel, despite being freshly out of surgery, felt alleviated from that soft gaze.

 

“I’m sorry I hadn’t been spending so much time with you lately. You’re still my best friend. It’s just that I…”

 

Jougo looked as if he had suddenly lost the words to say. Yubel knew. He was going to mention that boy’s name again - they didn’t even want to think about it, but now that it was in their head, _Mamoru,_ Yubel could taste acid in their mouth. The syllables, the meaning - to _protect_ \- was one big insult to Yubel’s own existence.

 

That boy - that _nobody_ could ever hold a candle to the lengths Yubel would and _have_ gone through to protect the prince. Words and flowers could be offered by any meek villager. Even love could be arranged with another royalty. But Yubel defied the conventions of such human concepts.

 

That was right - they were no longer human. They were a dragon now. Invincible, untouchable, and almighty - Yubel had the power to crush anyone who came close to the prince. Including that brat—

 

“...Yubel? I’m sorry if you’re still mad at me, but… can I at least walk you back?”

 

Yubel blinked. Spacing out was unbecoming of a draconic protector. And so was allowing the prince to walk them back.

 

Perhaps Yubel was still more human than they’d let on.

**Author's Note:**

> Next chapter will probably be in Mamoru's POV.


End file.
